different between meow vs miao

English

Alternative forms

• meu
• mew
• miaow, miaou (UK)

Etymology

Onomatopoeic, with some spellings modelled on French miaou. Meow and its spelling variants entered widespread currency in the 19th century; before then, mew was more common.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /mi?a??/, /mja??/
• Rhymes: -a?

Interjection

meow

1. The cry of a cat.
2. Said in reply to a spiteful or catty comment.
3. Said to denote seductiveness, mimicking a growl.

Synonyms

• nyao

Translations

Noun

meow (plural meows)

1. The cry of a cat.
2. (Britain, slang, uncountable) The drug mephedrone.

   Synonyms: drone, meow meow

Derived terms

• cat’s meow
• meowless
• meowlike
• meowy

Translations

Verb

meow (third-person singular simple present meows, present participle meowing, simple past and past participle meowed)

1. (intransitive) Of a cat, to make its cry.

Synonyms

• mew

Translations

Italian

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?mja.o/

Noun

miao m (invariable)

1. meow, mew, meu, miaow

Derived terms

• miagolare
• miagolio
• miagolone

Interjection

miao

1. meow, mew, meu, miaow the cry of a cat

Anagrams

• omai

Mandarin

Romanization

miao

1. Nonstandard spelling of mi?o.
2. Nonstandard spelling of miáo.
3. Nonstandard spelling of mi?o.
4. Nonstandard spelling of miào.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Spanish

Adjective

miao (invariable)

1. Miao

Noun

miao m or f (plural miao)

1. Miao